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Monday, April 13, 2015

Vatican City, 11 April 2015 (VIS) –
Pope Francis has sent a message to Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez,
president of Panama, host country of the Seventh Summit of the
Americas, which on this occasion takes as its theme “Prosperity
with equity: the challenge of cooperation in the Americas”. The
Holy Father commented that he is “in harmony” with the theme
chosen for the Summit, affirms that he is “convinced … that
inequality, the unjust distribution of wealth and resources, is a
source of conflicts and violence among peoples, as it presupposes
that the progress of some is built on the necessary sacrifice of
others and that, to be able to live in a dignified fashion, one must
fight with others”.

“Well-being reached in this way is
unjust at its root and attacks the dignity of the person”, he
writes. “There are 'basic goods', such as the earth, work and a
home, and 'public services', such as health, education, security and
the environment, from which no human being should be denied access.
This desire – which we all share – is unfortunately still far
from reality. … The great challenge of our world is the
globalisation of solidarity and fraternity in the place of the
globalisation of discrimination and indifference, and until a more
equitable distribution of wealth is achieved, the ills of our society
will not be resolved”.

Francis remarks that many countries
have certainly experienced significant economic development in recent
years, but “it is equally true that others remain prostrated in
poverty. Moreover, in the emerging economies, a large part of the
population does not benefit from general economic progress, to the
point that frequently a greater rift opens up between rich and poor.
'Trickle down' theories have been shown to be erroneous: it is not
enough to hope that the poor may gather the crumbs that fall from the
table of the rich. It is necessary to take direct action in favour of
the most disadvantaged, attention to should be a priority for
governors, as it is for the smallest within a family”.

He then turns his attention to the
problem of immigration. “The immense disparity of opportunities
between some countries and others ensures that many people feel
compelled to abandon their homeland and their family, thus becoming
easy prey for human trafficking and slave labour, without rights or
access to justice. In some cases, the lack of cooperation between
States leaves many people unprotected by the law and unable to
guarantee their own rights, and thus obliged to ally themselves with
those who take advantage of others, or to resign themselves to being
victims of abuse. These are situations in which it is not enough to
safeguard the law to defend the basic rights of the person, and in
which the rules, without pity and mercy, do not respond to justice.
Within every country, at times, scandalous and offensive differences
are created, especially between indigent peoples, in rural areas or
in the peripheries of large cities. If it fails to genuinely defend
these people against racism, xenophobia and intolerance, the rule of
law loses its very legitimacy”.

“Efforts to build bridges, to
establish channels of communication, to build relationships and to
seek agreement are never in vain. The geographical situation of
Panama, in the centre of the American continent, making it a point of
encounter between north and south, between the Pacific and Atlantic
Oceans, is certainly a call, pro mundi beneficio, to generate a new
order of peace and justice, and to promote solidarity and
collaboration, respecting the just autonomy of every nation”,
writes the Pope, who concludes by expressing his hope that the Church
“may also be an instrument of peace and reconciliation between
peoples”.